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Jon Vickers
Indiana University Cinema
jwvicker@indiana.edu
812-855-7632

Jennifer Piurek
University Communications
jpiurek@indiana.edu
812-856-4886

Last modified: Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Grand opening of IU Cinema scheduled for January 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 14, 2010

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The highly anticipated Indiana University Cinema will open in late January 2011 rather than this fall as initially planned because installation of its state-of-the-art digital projection system will take longer than expected, said IU Cinema Director Jon Vickers.

Jon Vickers

Jon Vickers

"The quality of equipment is even better than we initially imagined," Vickers said. "I think it will surprise people. The extended timeline is also providing the cinema with extra time to develop an even grander and more exciting slate of opening activities."

When completed, the facility will be one of only about 10 THX-certified facilities on college campuses anywhere in the United States. The extended timeline will allow Sony Electronics additional time to install the highest standards of 35 mm, 16 mm, 2K and 4K DCI Digital Cinema projection.

IU administrators see the IU Cinema as crucial to the university's public engagement mission and a vehicle that will enhance scholarship and learning experiences for both students and the public while fostering partnerships with members of the film community from all over the world.

"Once installation is complete, our testing, tuning and certification of the systems, along with the training of our staff, will provide the best cinematic experience for our patrons," Vickers said.

The world-class IU Cinema marries scholarly research and archival materials with the opportunity to view modern, traditional and silent films. The presence of such a facility at IU strengthens the university's film arts, research and pedagogy, providing a space where campus and community members can revisit the cinematic texts and film collections archived at IU.

A groundbreaking in October 2009 began a renovation process that will culminate with a space for film festivals and premieres as well as areas for rehearsal, performance, a dance studio and offices for the IU Department of Theatre and Drama. Messer Construction Co. of Indianapolis oversaw refurbishment of the building, which once housed the University Theatre, also known as "Little Theatre" and home to a flourishing campus tradition of drama and performance.

As one of just a few THX-certified theaters housed at a university in the country, the IU Cinema will join an elite group of world-class film institutions across the nation. Vickers sees potential for the IU Cinema to become a top-tier contemporary with theaters that include the American Film Institute Silver Theater, Billy Wilder Theater, Cary Grant Theatre, Gene Siskel Film Center and Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

In addition to housing several panels of the recently restored Indiana Murals by Thomas Hart Benton (initially displayed at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair), the IU Cinema will provide a space for the university's substantial holdings in film, including those of the David S. Bradley Film Collection, the Black Film Center/Archive, the archives of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, the Lilly Library and the Department of Communication and Culture. Rare prints from archives and museums around the world and new films by national and international directors will also be screened.

For more information on the IU Cinema, see https://www.indiana.edu/~iucinema/.